I don’t blame Dan Sansky for hanging up. If I were him, I wouldn’t talk to me. I found Sansky’s cellphone number on his employment application at the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS), where he is maintenance supervisor.
(read more)

DICKSON CITY — State Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Saturday, recalling the discrimination Irish immigrants faced when they came to the United States, blasted the prejudice that exists today.
(read more)

Article Tools

Police officers who fatally shot a bank robber had no choice but to open fire after he aggressively exited his vehicle and pointed a gun at them, Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon said Friday.

All but a small portion of the incident involving John Souder, 40, of Old Forge, was captured on police dash cam videos and the bank’s surveillance system, Scanlon said in a press release. A review of the tapes and interviews with multiple people led him and state police to conclude Souder’s death was a justifiable homicide.

“The officers did everything in their power to prevent the unfortunate but unavoidable ending to this incident,” Scanlon said.

Souder was killed Dec. 7 after he robbed the M&T Bank in Wyoming and led police on a 9-mile, high-speed chase through Wyoming, Pittston and Old Forge.

Souder ran numerous traffic lights, careened into oncoming traffic to pass vehicles and drove over a sidewalk to get through an intersection before he pulled over in the parking lot of the Old Forge Animal Hospital on South Main Street, Scanlon said. There, he confronted two state troopers and one officer each from West Wyoming and Wyoming boroughs, who were involved in the pursuit, Scanlon said.

A witness to the shooting told The Times-Tribune she believed Souder shot at the officers. Scanlon said the investigation determined Souder’s gun was loaded, but he did not fire any shots. He suspects the witness saw Souder exit the car with a gun, then heard a volley of shots and assumed he fired at officers.

Even though Souder did not shoot, police were justified in opening fire due to the imminent threat Souder posed, he said.

“He stopped his car and he aggressively, almost instantaneously, threw open the door and drew his gun toward the officers,” he said.

Scanlon said the officers fired more than 25 rounds, two of which struck Souder in the head. He was transported to an area hospital, where he later died. Scanlon said he is not identifying the officers because he determined their actions were justified.

The officers were placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. All have now returned to duty.

“It’s very unfortunate for everyone involved — his family, the police officers,” Scanlon said. “No one ever wants to be involved in that situation.”

Souder’s motivation in robbing the bank remains a mystery. In an interview about a week after his death, his fiancee, Beth Hunsicker of Old Forge, and sister, Charlene Modlesky of Edwardsville, described him as a gentle family man. They said they were aware of no financial issues or other struggles that would lead him to commit the crime.

Scanlon said police learned during their investigation that Souder called Hunsicker as he was fleeing police. He told her he robbed a bank, police were chasing him and commented, “I’ll see you in heaven.”

Attempts to reach Hunsicker and Modlesky for comment Friday regarding the outcome of the shooting investigation were unsuccessful.

A man and a woman face child endangerment charges after Dunmore police discovered two children home alone. Police said Nicole Sciortino, 30, 1201 Monroe Ave., Dunmore, left her 11-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter home alone while she was in Florida.
(read more)

SCRANTON — A West Abington Twp. supervisor will serve out his sentence for exposing himself to three girls in the Lackawanna County Prison. Supervisor David P. Button Sr. wanted Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle to change his jail sentence to home confinemen
(read more)

SCRANTON — City police charged a man with choking his girlfriend and bouncing her head off a kitchen counter Saturday afternoon. Jalil Bahar-Kubadidi, 18, of 602 Grace St., is charged with assaulting Alisha Ocasio, who suffered bruises over her left eye a
(read more)

State criminal investigators are looking into how a mechanic received unauthorized health insurance from the Scranton School District for 12 years. Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., said an investigator from the state police and another from the state
(read more)

Changes implemented earlier this month by the state Department of Auditor General ensure all school district audits and reviews examine school safety measures and provide findings to law enforcement officials.
(read more)

A man and a woman face child endangerment charges after Dunmore police discovered two children home alone. Police said Nicole Sciortino, 30, 1201 Monroe Ave., Dunmore, left her 11-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter home alone while she was in Florida.
(read more)

SCRANTON — A West Abington Twp. supervisor will serve out his sentence for exposing himself to three girls in the Lackawanna County Prison. Supervisor David P. Button Sr. wanted Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle to change his jail sentence to home confinemen
(read more)

SCRANTON — City police charged a man with choking his girlfriend and bouncing her head off a kitchen counter Saturday afternoon. Jalil Bahar-Kubadidi, 18, of 602 Grace St., is charged with assaulting Alisha Ocasio, who suffered bruises over her left eye a
(read more)

State criminal investigators are looking into how a mechanic received unauthorized health insurance from the Scranton School District for 12 years. Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., said an investigator from the state police and another from the state
(read more)

Changes implemented earlier this month by the state Department of Auditor General ensure all school district audits and reviews examine school safety measures and provide findings to law enforcement officials.
(read more)

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.